News of Patch Macauley’s stabbing and disappearance spreads quickly through Monta Clare. Main Street empties as townspeople, children, police, and local reporters gather at the edge of the woods, all waiting for word and fearing the worst.

Saint stands apart and watches Chief Nix arrive at the scene. As officers examine the tire tracks in the hard mud, Saint feels the place change from a site of childhood play into a lasting source of trauma. The woods remind her of her history with Patch, and those memories sharpen her fear that he is now in terrible danger.

Chief Nix orders a wide lockdown of the surrounding roads, trying to stop anyone from escaping. When Saint quietly corrects him about the highway route, Nix recognizes her as the bus driver’s granddaughter and asks if she is Patch’s friend. He tells Saint that Patch did a brave thing, confirming that the adults understand Patch was hurt while saving Misty.

The scene shifts when Ivy Macauley arrives in distress and has to be restrained by an officer. Once Chief Nix lets her go, Ivy holds herself together until she sees Patch’s bloodied shirt sealed in a bag. That sight breaks her composure, and her scream leaves a lasting mark on everyone who hears it, especially Saint.

By the end of the chapter, the search gains one crucial lead: Pattie Rayburn reports seeing the van turn onto Highway 35. The information confirms that Patch was taken away from the woods, and the chapter closes on the devastating fact that Patch is gone.